Straw-baling machine.



I PATENTED AUG. 11. 1903. g G. J. FREESE.

STRAW- BALING MACHINE.

A PPLIOATION FILED MAR. 27, 1902.

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Patented August 11, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAV J. FREESE, OF ODEBOLT, IOWA.

STRAW-BALING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 736,084, dated August 11, 1903.

Application filed March 27, 1902. Serial No. 100,344. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it knoivn that I, GUSTAV J. FREESE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Odebolt', Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Straw-Baling Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

The purpose of this invention is to provide improved apparatus of suitably portable or transportable character to be located in convenient proximity to a threshing-machine or other source of straw or like material requiring to be baled and arranged to derive its power preferably from the same source as the threshing-machine and to receive the straw from the thresher and accumulate it into compact bales, so that it may be ready for transportation or storage when the process of prod action by the thres'her is ended.

It consists in improved means for operating the presser by which the straw is packed in the bales, improved means for delivering the straw into position for being thus compacted, and in specific details of construction, which are set out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved straw-baling machine. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a, transverse section at the line 3 3 on Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a detail side'elevation of a sprocketwheel and rack thereon for giving reciprocatin g movement to the presser-actuating chains.

My machine comprises a skeleton receptacle whose outward end portions 1 1 constitute bale-spaces, the intermediate portion 2 being a packing-space in which the straw is designed to be delivered downward into the path of a presser or compressing-head 3, which is caused to reciprocate back and forth in said intermediate space in each movement, carrying the straw which is delivered in front of it into the bale-space toward which it is moving. The entire structure is mounted upon wheels 5 5, so that it may be transported to convenient position for receiving driving power, which maybe communicated from any source, as a shaft of'athreshing-machine, by belt over the pulley 6 on the shaft 7, which is journaled on the frame and carries thebeveled gear-wheel 8 and sprocket-wheel 28. The beveled gear 8 meshes with beveled gear 10 on a transverse shaft 11, which at a point intermediate its ends under the frame has a sprocket-pinion 12 for driving a chain 13, which communicates power to sprocket-wheel 14, whose shaft 15, extending transversely under the frame, has rigid with it at opposite ends similar pinions 16 16. Mounted upon the outside of the frame are two pairs of sprocket-wheels 17 17 and 18 18, the wheels 17 and 18 at each side being in line and being encompassed by chain 19, the upper plies of the two chains 19 19 being connected by a shaft or bar 20, which extends across the packing-space and protrudes out through the interval between two bars 21 21 of the portion of the frame inclosing the packing-space. The shaft or bar 20 carries the presser or packing-head 3, which practically occupies the entire transverse dimensions ofthe packingspace from side to side and from top to bottom. The sprocket-wheels 18 18 have each formed on their inner faces or made rigid with them at the inner side two concentric racks 23 24, a continuous rack having a concave and a convex side concentric about the axis of the wheel. As illustrated, it is an interior rack infolded upon itself, so as to make two concentric racks, as described, which are preferably connected at their ends so as to be continuous and-between the two concentric racks an up-raise or rib 25, concentric with both racks. The pinions 16 16 are adapted to mesh with racks on the two sprocket-wheels 18 18, respectively, their diameter with respect to thedistance between the racks and the intermediate guide-rib being such as to adapt them to thus mesh with either the interior or the exterior rack when the shaft, which protrudes from the end of each pinion, is engaged on the side of the rib toward the rack with which 'the pinion is thus meshed, so that the pinions are held in mesh by theshaft stopped against the concentric rib. It will be seen that as the two pinions are rotated in engagement with the outer-rack segment they will rotate the wheels 18 18 in one direction,an d as they reach the limit of the rack and the shaft passes around the end of the rib the shaft and pinions will be moved, if afforded opportunity for movement, inward toward the axis of the sprocket-wheels as the pinions pass over into mesh with the inner rack, and that continuing their revolution in the same direction While in mesh with the inner rack they will rotate the sprocket-wheels in the opposite direction from that in which said wheels were rotated during the meshing of the pinions with the outer rack. The shaft 15 is provided with sliding boxes 27 27, which permit the pinions thus to pass from one rack to the other and reverse the rotation of the sprocket-wheels. The extent of movement in each direction which the sprocket-wheels derive in this manner is calculated to be such as to cause the upper ply of the chain 1.9 to carry the bar20, and thereby the presser 3, from the nearest point of approach which the bar can conveniently make to one pair of sprocket-wheels to a correspondingly convenient point of approach to the other pair of sprocket-wheels, said pairs of sprocket-wheels being placed longitudinally with respect to frame, so that this extent of movement is adequate to accomplish the necessary packing, being such as to cause the presser to oscillate back and forth through substantially the whole packingspace.

011 the shaft 7 is a sprocket-wheel 28, around which a chain passes, driving a sprocketwheel 29 on shaft 30, mounted upon the up per part of the frame and having on it the sprocket-wheel 31, from which a chain extends to a sprocket-wheel 33 on a shaft 34, which has also a pulley 35, from which a twistbelt or other means of reversing motion extends to a pulley 36 011 a shaft 37, parallel with the shaft 34, said shafts 34: and 37 being extended longitudinally above the packing-spaceand having rollers 34 and 37 by which they drive the conveyer-belts 38 and 39, respectively, which extend up obliquely from said shafts and are carried over idle rollers 40 and 41 at their upper ends, said rollers being mounted in any suitable manner on posts extended up from the frame above the conveyer-belts, inclined laterally with respect to the frame toward one side thereof, the one which is near that side, which is conveyer 38 in the drawings, being longer than the other and extending upward and out farther than the other, so that the straw which may be delivered by any convenient means from the thresher or source of supply falls on the upper inclined surface of said longer conveyer and readily passes down between the two, the twist-belt mentioned having the effect to give said conveyer-aprons the same direction of travel at their proximate faces, so that they feed down the straw which may be accumulated between them in suiiicient quantity to be somewhat packed in the process and deliver it into the packing-space above the path of the presser, which is reciprocated therein by the means above described.

I claim- 1. A straw-baling machine comprising a horizontally-extended receptacle, whose end portions constitute spaces for bales to be formed therein, the portion of said receptacle intermediate said end portions being open in one direction for the reception of the straw to be baled; a presser extending transversely in said intermediate open portions; means for moving it laterally in said open portion and automatically alternating its movement in opposite directions toward the two opposite end portions or bale-spaces from a position wholly at one side to aposition wholly at the opposite side of an intermediate space in said open portion; and means delivering the straw into said open intermediate space between the two extreme positions of the presser into the path of movement of the presser in either direction.

2. In a straw-baling machine a horizontally-extended receptacle, whose opposite end portions constitute baling-spaces, said receptacle comprising, intermediate said balespaces, a portion upwardly open to receive the straw; a presser extending across the receptacle in said intermediate upwardly open portion, whereby the straw may be delivered into said intermediate space 011 both sides of the presser therein; means for automatically reversing the direction of movement to reciprocate the presser in said intermediate straw-receiving space whereby it is moved toward the opposite end bale-spaces alternately from a position wholly at one side to a position wholly at the opposite side of an intermediate portion of said straw-receiving space; and endless conveyers between which the straw is received and delivered from above into such intermediate portion in the path of the reciprocating movement of the presser; whereby it is lodged upon opposite sides of the presser in position to be packed into the two end bale-spaces respectively.

3. In a straw-baling machine a horizontally-extended receptacle whose opposite end portions constitute bale-spaces, said receptacle having intermediate said bale-spaces a straw-receiving space; a presser extending transversely in the straw-receiving space; means for actuating it and for automatically reversing its direction of movement to cause it to reciprocate the presser in said intermediate space, comprising a chain to which the presser is connected; and means giving the chain automatically reciprocating travel to cause it to carry the presser with horizontal movement alternately in opposite directions in the straw-receiving space toward the opposite baling-spaces respectively.

4. A straw-baling machine comprising a horizontally-extended receptacle, whose opposite end portions constitute bale-spaces, and whose intermediate portion constitutes a straw receiving and packing space; a presser and means for reciprocating it in the intermediate space; a pair of endless conveyers overhanging the intermediate space, said conveyers being in position to receive the straw at the upper end; means for driving said conveyers to give their proximate plies travel in the same direction, the planes of ICC travel of said plies being transverse to the direction of reciprocation of the packer, and the width of said conveyers being sub stantially the entire length of the straw receiving and packing space, whereby the straw is carried downand delivered into said space at both sides of the presser for packing by the latter into the opposite bale-spaces re spectively.

5. A straw-baling machine comprising a horizontally-extended receptacle Whose opposite end portions constitute bale-spaces and whose intermediate portion constitutes a straw receiving and packing space; a presser extending transversely in the receptacle in said intermediate space; means for-actuating the presser in said space, comprising chains to which the presser is connected at its opposite ends; and mechanism giving the chains equal travel andmeans for automatically reversing the direction of such travel to cause the chains to carry the presser horizontally in opposite directions alternately. in the intermediate or packing space.

0. A baling-machine comprising a horizontally-extended receptacle whose opposite end portions constitute bale-spaces; apresser extending transversely in the receptacle; a chain to which the presser is connected; a driving and a driven sprocket-wheel around which the chain extends, the driving sprocketwheel having a rack having a concave and a convex side concentric about the axis; a shaft suitably journaled and a pinion thereon meshing with such rack, the journal-bearing of the shaft being adapted to oscillate to permit the pinion to pass from mesh with the concave side to mesh with the convex side of the rack, anda guard for holding the pinion in mesh with the rack, arranged to permit such movement of the journal-bearing at the ends of the rack.

7. A baling-machine comprising a horizontally-extended receptacle Whose opposite end portions constitute bale-spaces, a presser extending transversely in the receptacle at the portion intern'iediate between the balespaces, chains to which the presser is connected at opposite ends, sprocket-wheels around which the chains respectively extend, a shaft extending across under the receptacle; pinions on the opposite ends of the shaft; concentric racks on each of the sprocket-wheels of one pair adapted to be engaged by the pinions respectively, the shaft being journaled in bearings adapted to oscillate to'permit the pinions to pass from one to the other of the concentric racks; whereby continuous rotation of the shaft gives rotation alternately in opposite direction to the rack-carrying sprocketwheels to reverse the direction of travel of the chains.

8. A straw-baling machine comprising a horizontally-extended receptacle whose end portions constitute bale-spaces and whose intermediate portionsconstitute packing-space; a presser in the packing-space, chains to which the presser is attached at opposite ends; two pairs of carrying-wheels for said chains journaled on the receptacle outside of the bale-spaces, the wheels of one pair having rigid with them respectively concentric racks and an intermediate concentric rib; a shaft extending across under receptacle, having pinions adapted to engage the racks, the shaft being extended to obtain guidance on the rib; means for rotating the shaft continuously in one direction whereby the rackcarrying sprocket-wheels are oscillated or rotated alternately in opposite directions through an angle corresponding to the extent of the racks to give the presser reciprocating travel in the packing-space.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands, in the presence of two witnesses, at Odebolt, Iowa, this 11th day of March, 1 902.

GUSTAV J. FREESE.

I n presence of FRED H. HUESMANN, J. H. 'KETTERER. 

